TY - JOUR
T1 - MESO-structure in three strong-lensing systems
AU - Saha, Prasenjit
AU - Williams, Liliya L.R.
AU - Ferreras, Ignacio
PY - 2007/7/1
Y1 - 2007/7/1
N2 - We map substructure in three strong-lensing systems having particularly good image data: the galaxy lens MG J0414+053 and the clusters SDSS J1004+411 and ACO 1689. Our method is to first reconstruct the lens as a pixelated mass map and then subtract off the symmetric part (in the galaxy case) or a projected Navarro-Frenk- White profile (for the cluster lenses). In all three systems we find extended irregular structures, or meso-structures, having of order 10% of the total mass. In J0414+053, the meso-structure suggests a tidal tail connecting the main lens with a nearby galaxy; however, this interpretation is tentative. In the clusters, the identification of meso-structure is more secure, especially in ACO 1689, where two independent sets of lensed images imply very similar meso-structure. In all three cases, the meso-structures are correlated with galaxies but much more extended and massive than the stellar components of single galaxies. Such extended structures cannot plausibly persist in such high-density regions without being mixed; the crossing times are too short. The meso-structures therefore appear to be merging or otherwise dynamically evolving systems.
AB - We map substructure in three strong-lensing systems having particularly good image data: the galaxy lens MG J0414+053 and the clusters SDSS J1004+411 and ACO 1689. Our method is to first reconstruct the lens as a pixelated mass map and then subtract off the symmetric part (in the galaxy case) or a projected Navarro-Frenk- White profile (for the cluster lenses). In all three systems we find extended irregular structures, or meso-structures, having of order 10% of the total mass. In J0414+053, the meso-structure suggests a tidal tail connecting the main lens with a nearby galaxy; however, this interpretation is tentative. In the clusters, the identification of meso-structure is more secure, especially in ACO 1689, where two independent sets of lensed images imply very similar meso-structure. In all three cases, the meso-structures are correlated with galaxies but much more extended and massive than the stellar components of single galaxies. Such extended structures cannot plausibly persist in such high-density regions without being mixed; the crossing times are too short. The meso-structures therefore appear to be merging or otherwise dynamically evolving systems.
KW - Gravitational lensing
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U2 - 10.1086/518083
DO - 10.1086/518083
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34547143137
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 663
SP - 29
EP - 37
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 1 I
ER -